Hand lever



Jan. 14, 1941- A. L. JOHNSON HAND LEVER vFiled June 19, 1959 INVENTOR.

S n N l MJA Patented Jan. 14, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AmericanForging and Socket Company,

Pontiac, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application June 19,

1 Claim.

This invention relates to hand lever mechanism for operating remotelycontrolled apparatus, as for operating the hand or emergency brakes ofmotor vehicles Iand the like.

An important object of the invention is to provide a hand brakeconstruction having improved pawl and ratchet means, and improvedoperating means therefor, the parts being so arranged that the brakes orother mechanism operated by the device are very easily releasable underall conditions, and even when considerable force is exerted on the levertending to oppose release of the ratchet, as for example, when thebrakes r other controlled mechanism are set hard and exert considerablereturn effort upon the lever.

Another object is to provide such a` hand lever mechanism having veryfew parts, which may be formed largely of inexpensive sheet metal, andyall of the parts of which are at all times effectively held againstrattling.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription, wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawingillustrating preferred embodiments of my invention and wherein similarreference numerals designate similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is ya side elevational View of a hand lever incorporating theprinciples of this invention, showing the saine installed in a motorvehicle, adjacent parts of which are illustrated in section and infragmentary and diagrammatic manner.

Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevational View of the hand lever.

Figure 3 isI an elevation thereof, taken as indicated by the line andarrows 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional detail taken substantially on the line 4 4 ofFigure 3, and looking in the direction of the arrows, but on a somewhatlarger scale.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional View taken substantially on the line 5-5of Figure 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 6 is a side elevational view similar to Figure 2, but showing asomewhat modied construction.

Referring now to the drawing, it will be seen that the body of the leverportion I6 is formed of sheet metal and is substantially U-shaped incross section. Ihe upper end of the lever is pivoted at l2 upon aratchet plate l5 which is in turn supported by a bracket Il attached tothe dash panel I8 and cowl I9 of the vehicle beneath 1939, Serial No.279,858

(Cl. i4-537) the instrument panel I6. The hand grip portion 35 projectsin a position to be conveniently accessible to the operator.

The ratchet teeth comprise a series of rounded depressions adapted tovbe engaged by the similarly rounded nose of a sheet metal pawl 25,pivoted between the side webs4 of the lever I0, upon a pin 22. A spring21, trapped between the downwardly projecting lower end of the pawl andthe interior of the lever, tends to return the pawl to' its normalposition in which it blocks return movement of the lever by engagementwith one of the depressions 20 constituting the ratchet teeth.

The pawl is rockable away from the locked position by means of anoperating thumb lever 30 pivoted to the main lever just above the handgrip 35, as upon a pin 32. A button-like thumb piece 33 is attached tothe small lever 30, in position to be conveniently engaged by the thumbof the operator. A cable 36 connects the thumb piece to the pawl in suchmanner that when the button is depressed, the pawl is rocked to thereleased position.

Due to the shape' of the ratchet teeth, and the fact that the pawl whenlocked extends almost parallel to the main lever, the load istransmitted directly to the body of the ratchet plate, and is notapplied to the teeth themselves in a transverse direction, or in anysuch degree as could cause the teeth to wear to an appreciable extent.

In the somewhat modified construction shown in Figure 6, the hand leverlUA is similar in form, as is also the pawl A, operation of the latter,however, being effected by means of a trigger A positioned on theopposite side of the hand lever at a point conveniently accessible tothe rst finger of the operator when grasping the hand grip A. Thetrigger is of course pivoted to swing in the opposite direction, and theoperating cable or rod 36A is therefore reversed in its position withrespect to pivot of the trigger. y I `am aware that the invention may beernbodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit oressential attributes thereof, and I therefore desire the presentembodiments to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive; reference being had to the appended claim rather than tothe foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.

I claim:

In combination with a hand lever and a ratchet arranged concentricallywith the fulcrum of the lever, means for releasably holding the leveragainst unwanted movement comprising a pawl in the general form of abellcrank pivoted thereon and having a nose arm extending substantiallylongitudinally of the lever and swingdepressions, and the distancebetween the pivot of the paWl and the ratchet being only slightly lessthan the effective length of the pawl, whereby the effort exerted on thepawl is transmitted thereby to said depressions rather than 5 to theteeth themselves, and the reactive force acts longitudinally of thelever.

ALVIN L. JOHNSON.

